Why your cat suddenly stares at walls or chases invisible flies – vets reveal when it’s normal and when it’s a sign to worry

You notice it first on a quiet evening. The TV hums, the kettle clicks off, and your cat, who was dozing like a furry comma on the sofa, suddenly sits bolt upright and fixes on… nothing. A blank patch of wall becomes the most fascinating thing in the room. Ears prick, pupils swell, tail-tip flicks. You follow their gaze and see absolutely zero.

The next day, it escalates. Your normally dignified cat launches into mid-air, batting and leaping at “flies” you cannot see, tracking invisible specks across the room with unnerving intensity. Part of you laughs. Another part feels a faint chill: is this just cat weirdness, or is something wrong?

Living with a cat means living with a creature whose senses and instincts run several notches sharper than yours. They hear electricity in the walls, follow dust motes you never register, and can go from statue-still to acrobat in three seconds flat. But vets are clear about one thing: while some staring and “ghost-chasing” is totally normal, sudden changes, or episodes that look disconnected from reality, can be a red flag.

Understanding which is which can save you a lot of worry-and occasionally, save your cat’s sight, blood pressure or even their life.

What your cat might actually be noticing

Your cat’s world is louder, brighter and twitchier than yours, in ways that are hard to imagine from the comfort of the sofa. Their eyes are tuned for movement, especially in low light. Their ears rotate like satellite dishes, catching the faintest click in a skirting board or a neighbour’s footsteps through plaster. Even whiskers pick up tiny air currents around gaps and cracks.

A patch of wall that looks blank to you might not be blank to them at all. It could be:

• A minuscule spider or moth you simply cannot see at that distance.
• Light reflections from your phone, watch, car headlights or a passing bus.
• The shadow of a tree, boiler light, router or TV screen shifting just enough to look like prey.
• Faint scratching or scurrying in the wall from pipes, mice or insects.

To a small predator built to specialise in “find the tiny moving thing and pounce”, a dull beige wall is a live cinema screen.

Normal “ghost hunting”: harmless explanations

Vets see a lot of perfectly healthy cats who stare at walls or chase invisible specks as part of their normal behaviour. A few patterns tend to be reassuring.

It follows a clear trigger

If your cat’s stare or chase:

• Starts when the sun moves round and hits a new window,
• Coincides with phone torches, TV flicker or car lights,
• Or only happens in one particular spot (often near plumbing or an outside wall),

there is a decent chance they are tracking light, shadow or sound, not spirits.

You can test this by gently recreating or removing the trigger: turn the TV off, close the blind, move your phone or watch. Many cats will stop as abruptly as they started.

They are alert, playful and easy to distract

Harmless wall-watching usually looks like intense hunting mode. The body is forward, whiskers “switched on”, ears moving, tail-tip twitching. Call their name or toss a toy and they will often snap out of it immediately, or happily redirect to a feather wand.

“If a cat can be called away from the behaviour and then acts completely normal, it’s usually less worrying,” notes one small-animal vet I spoke to. “We still ask about frequency and context, but it’s not the same as a vacant, unreachable stare.”

It fits their age and personality

Young, high-energy or naturally “high-strung” cats are more likely to overreact to specks, creaks and shadows. Indoor cats with pent-up hunting drive may also fixate on the one interesting thing in a quiet room.

For these cats, wall-staring and sky-pawing are often a mix of boredom, instinct and incredible senses. Offering more structured play and enrichment usually tones it down.

When staring and “invisible flies” are warning signs

The version that makes vets sit up is different. Here, the staring or fly-chasing can be a clue to pain, eye disease, high blood pressure, cognitive decline or even seizures. The behaviour itself is not the problem; what sits underneath it can be.

Red flags in the way it looks

These features are more concerning:

• Your cat seems distant or “not there” during episodes, as if they cannot hear you.
• They stare at a fixed spot, sometimes with the head pressed close to a wall or corner.
• The eyes look odd: pupils hugely dilated or uneven, eye flicking side to side, or bumping into furniture.
• Jaw-chomping, chewing motions, drooling or facial twitching appear during “fly-chasing”.
• They paddle their feet, collapse, or seem wobbly afterwards.

Some of these are classic signs of focal seizures in cats, sometimes called “fly-biting seizures”. The cat’s brain is misfiring in a way that makes it feel as though there are things to chase in the air, or pulls their attention into a fixed, internal world.

Sudden change in an older cat

Age matters. A kitten having mad five minutes at the curtains is one thing. A 12-year-old cat who has never done this before and suddenly spends evenings staring into corners is another.

In older cats, this pattern can be linked to:

• High blood pressure (hypertension), which can damage the eyes and brain.
• Thyroid disease, making them restless, hyper-alert and more reactive.
• Cognitive dysfunction (feline dementia), where they seem confused, spaced out or get stuck staring.
• Retinal problems or partial blindness, which can make them “scan” space strangely or fixate on lights.

Hypertension and eye disease are time-sensitive. Catching them early can prevent or limit permanent vision loss.

Worrying clusters and frequency

One odd episode after a loud noise is very different to:

• Several episodes in a single day or night,
• Daily staring spells that last minutes at a time,
• Night-time pacing, yowling and wall-facing every evening.

Patterns and clusters matter. More frequent, longer or more intense episodes deserve a vet visit, particularly if anything else about your cat feels “off”.

How vets investigate strange staring or chasing

When you describe wall-staring or invisible fly-chasing to a vet, they do not just think “quirky cat”. They mentally run through a checklist of possible systems: eyes, brain, blood pressure, hormones, pain, anxiety.

A typical work-up might include:

• Detailed history
  When it started, what it looks like, how long it lasts, any triggers, videos you have captured, and whether your cat seems responsive during episodes.

• Thorough physical and neurological exam
  Checking vision, pupil responses, eye pressure, balance, reflexes and any signs of pain, particularly around the head and neck.

• Blood pressure measurement
  Especially in cats over seven. Raised pressure is common and can drive eye and brain changes.

• Blood and urine tests
  To assess thyroid function, kidney health, liver values, sugar levels and more.

• Eye examination
  Using special lights and lenses to inspect the retina, optic nerve and structures inside the eye.

• Advanced imaging or referral
  In stubborn or severe cases, a CT or MRI scan, or referral to a veterinary neurologist or ophthalmologist, may be recommended.

Sometimes, no single dramatic cause is found. Instead, the vet may uncover a combination of milder issues-slightly raised blood pressure, early kidney disease, some age-related brain changes-that together explain the new behaviour and can be managed.

Simple things you can check – and when to call the vet

You do not need to become a neurologist overnight, but you can be your cat’s best observer. A few simple checks at home help you decide how urgent things are.

Quick home checklist

• Film it
  If you can safely do so, record a short video of the behaviour on your phone. Vets find this far more useful than a description alone.

• Test responsiveness
  During an episode, quietly call their name, clap your hands once (not right next to their ear) or rustle a treat bag. Note whether they respond quickly, slowly, or not at all.

• Look at their eyes
  Are the pupils huge even in bright light? Do they stay huge for a long time afterwards? Are they the same size? Do the eyes flick side to side?

• Think about timing and context
  Is it always at night? After stress? In one room only? Has anything in your home changed-new heating, building work next door, a new pet or baby?

When it is probably fine

You can usually watch and wait (and mention it at your next routine check-up) if:

• Your cat is young or has always been a bit eccentric.
• The episodes are brief, occasional and clearly linked to lights, insects or sounds.
• They are playful, can be distracted, and otherwise eat, drink, groom, use the litter tray and sleep as normal.

When to book a vet appointment soon

Call your vet in the next few days if:

• This is new in a cat over seven years old.
• The episodes are happening several times a week or seem to be getting longer.
• Your cat seems more restless, vocal, clingy or withdrawn in between.
• You have noticed weight loss, increased thirst or changes in appetite or toileting.

When it is an emergency

Seek same-day or out-of-hours vet care if you see:

• Full-body seizures, collapse, paddling, or loss of consciousness.
• Repeated “fly-chasing” spells in a row, with your cat dazed in between.
• Sudden blindness: crashing into furniture, unable to find food or you.
• Very sudden behaviour change with head-tilt, circling, head-pressing on walls, or rapid eye flicking.

In those moments, you are not overreacting; cats are masters at hiding illness, so dramatic changes often mean they have been compensating for a while.

Supporting an anxious or ageing cat

Once a vet has ruled out or treated medical causes, some cats simply need their environment and routine adjusted to calm their supercharged senses and ageing brains.

Small, practical steps help:

• Build in two or three short play sessions daily with “prey-like” toys (fishing-rod toys, small balls, food puzzles).
• Add vertical spaces (cat trees, shelves) so they can observe the room from safe vantage points.
• Keep lighting gentle and predictable in the evening; harsh flicker can overstimulate or confuse.
• Avoid sudden, loud household changes where possible, and provide safe hiding spots.
• For anxious or older cats, pheromone diffusers, joint support, warm beds and consistent routines can make nights less disorienting.

Light-touch enrichment does not erase every odd stare-that would not be a cat-but it can reduce the kind of restless, unfocused energy that sometimes fuels it.

One vet summed it up neatly: “Strange behaviour is your cat’s way of waving a tiny flag. Sometimes the flag says ‘I’m bored’. Sometimes it says ‘my blood pressure is sky-high’. Our job is to help you tell them apart.”

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FAQ:

• My cat has always stared at corners. Do I still need to worry? A long-standing quirk that has not changed in years and is not linked to any other symptoms is usually less concerning. Still, mention it at routine check-ups and seek advice if it suddenly gets more intense, frequent or is joined by other changes like weight loss, drinking more or odd walking.
• Is it cruel to interrupt my cat when they are staring or chasing “nothing”? Not at all, provided you do it calmly. Gently calling them or offering a toy is a useful way to test their responsiveness. If they happily switch to play or come for a fuss, that reassures you and gives them appropriate stimulation.
• Could this just be boredom because my cat lives indoors? Yes, under-stimulated indoor cats often over-focus on tiny movements, shadows or sounds. Increasing play, adding climbing options and using puzzle feeders or scatter-feeding can channel their hunting drive in healthier ways. Even then, new or odd behaviours in an adult cat deserve at least a routine vet check.
• Can high blood pressure really make a cat stare at walls? Indirectly, yes. High blood pressure can damage the delicate blood vessels in the eye and the brain, affecting vision and perception. Cats may then bump into things, misjudge distances or stare at light sources and walls. It is one reason vets are keen to check blood pressure in middle-aged and older cats.
• If the vet finds nothing serious, should I just ignore it? If investigations come back normal and your vet is not concerned, you can relax a little. Treat the behaviour as part of your cat’s personality, while still keeping one eye on it. If it ever changes in pattern, intensity or is joined by new signs, go back sooner rather than later.